Saturday, June 19, 2010

The Lok Satta Party is getting ready to contest municipal elections whenever they are held, announced party leaders Katari Srinivasa Rao, V.Lakshman Balaji and V.Vijayender Reddy at a media conference here today.

The party will be organizing training classes for local leaders and prospective contestants from July 1 to 10 in 40 municipalities and eight municipal corporations in the first phase. The party is holding training classes for master trainers from June 25 to 27. State party leaders will train the master trainers belonging to Telangana districts in Hyderabad, Rayalaseema districts in Tirupati, South Coastal Andhra districts in Ongole and North Coastal Andhra districts including East Godavari in Visakhapatnam.

The party’s main election plank is formation of ward governments. It will formulate ward manifestos and educate voters on the importance of exercising their franchise as a means to fashion their lives.

The party leaders hoped the Government would not defer the elections trotting out some excuse or the other, as some media reports hinted at, since it would be unconstitutional.

The Lok Satta leaders disclosed that the party had finalized its course of action after extensive discussions within the party on June 17 and 18.

The party decided to carry on its movement for restricting liquor consumption by joining hands with other political parties, NGOs and women’s associations. It will carry on the campaign in a sustained manner in at least one mandal in each district.

On the implementation of the Right to Education Act, the party leaders said that party units are surveying the situation prevailing at the ground level. An action program will be drawn up once the party headquarters receives their reports by the month-end.